Just Can’t Get Enough of the News

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A NOVEL EVERY FIVE AND A HALF YEARS (Laura)

Now I’ve always been of the opinion that I couldn’t possibly have the patience and talent to write a novel, but according to new research, the average mobile phone user writes the equivalent of a novel via text every five and a half years. And it’s not a Mills and Boom paperback either it’s an epic war and peace novel. It is estimated that the average user sends around 16 messages a day and at an average of 160 characters per text, it would take someone just five and a half years to text the 3,197,779 characters that make up Tolstoy’s famous novel. It’s a revealing statistic which shows how we are more inclined to drop someone a text rather than speak with them over the phone – has the art of phone conversation been lost with the evolution of mobile technology? Still at least our thumbs are getting a good workout albeit at the expense of our mouths!

DROPPING THE BALL – AND DAUGHTER (Andrea)

The excitement of going to a baseball game is something everyone should experience once as it’s an unforgettable event. In this case, this little girl will remember the day for all the wrong reasons. As you will see, her dad lifts his daughter up to watch the game and then drops her in an attempt to catch the ball which has been hit into the crowd. And just to make matters worse, he drops the ball too. She’ll not let him live that down for a while, that’s for sure.

P’P’P PICK UP A MEXICAN-WAVING PENGUIN (Adrian)

It’s a favourite pastime for sports crowds the world over, but it seems that the humble Mexican Wave is now gaining fans from a new, unusual source. Scientists have studied time lapse footage of penguins in Antarctica to find out more about the bird’s behaviour during the harsh winter months – and have discovered that the creatures shuffle slowly in barely-perceived “waves” in order to stay warm when they are packed together in a huddle. The movement has been described as a “Mexican wave” for penguins, which is perhaps the most brilliant thing I have ever heard of – and would only be trumped if it actually was a line of penguins raising their wings in unison and yelling “ole!”

A NIGHT ON THE TILES MAY BE FURTHER AWAY THAN YOU THINK (Scott)

The nocturnal roamings of cats are legendary and have given us expressions like “a night on the tiles” and “the morals of a Tom cat”. It may be difficult to prove just how much mischief cats get up to of an evening. But one dedicated post-graduate has spent two years researching just how far our feline friends roam. The results are surprising.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE (Raymond)

The shocking abuse exposed by Panorama is a great example of investigative journalism that sadly – in the cash-starved media industry – has slipped away. And while you have to remember that the shock value is elevated as this is a TV programme first and foremost, the evidence could only come out from a journalist going undercover. Such is the backlash, particularly against the English care regulator – the Care Quality Commission – for failing to act on the complaints passed its way, that it’s inevitable that heads will be asked to roll. To accelerate that process, a new website came onto my radar that may well spend the end of the hapless CQC regional director who was put up on Panorama to answer why they had failed to act. Petitiononline.co.uk allows people to host their own petition to champion change. Currently, the call to sack Ian Briggs stands at 750. I’d be more interested in seeing what his bosses are doing and saying on this – rather than leaving a lowly Regional Director to deflect the fire.